3 


\  ^C. 


AMERICA 
AND  EUROPE 

By 

BISHOP  EDGAR  BLAKE 


AMERICA  AND 
EUROPE 


By 

BISHOP  EDGAR  BLAKE 

PARIS,  FRANCE 


tftEJSSIlWlWBTPSEJS 


THE  ABINGDON  PRESS 

NEW  YORK  CINCINNATI 


4 


AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 


Rivers — every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  New 
England,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  New 
Jersey,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Ohio,  Indiana 
and  Illinois,  Michigan  and  Wisconsin — blotted 
out  of  existence,  you  can  imagine  something 
of  the  price  in  life  which  Europe  and  the 
world  paid  for  its  Roman  holiday. 

Europe  came  out  of  the  war  battered  and 
broken,  its  industries  disorganized,  its  com¬ 
merce  destroyed,  and  many  of  its  institutions 
overthrown.  The  morale  of  its  people  was 
shattered.  Its  whole  political,  social,  and 
moral  fabric  was  ripped  and  torn.  It  came 
out  of  the  war  bankrupt  in  money  and  bank¬ 
rupt  in  men,  a  weltering  chaos  of  financial, 
economic,  and  social  confusion.  Europe  was 
not  only  shaken  to  its  foundations,  but  shaken 
from  its  foundations.  For  four  and  a  half 
years  it  has  been  making  a  perfectly  heroic 
effort  to  find  its  way  back  to  order  and  stabil¬ 
ity  but  without  success.  A  generation  at 
least,  possibly  three,  will  be  required  before 
Europe  can  make  its  way  back  to  “normalcy.” 
It  is  a  stricken  continent.  Its  life  is  at  stake 
and  it  is  fighting  magnificently  to  save  it. 
Europe  is  struggling  to  escape  disaster,  and  it 
needs  the  sympathy  and  patience,  the  en¬ 
couragement  and  support  of  America.  We 
must  not  stand  aside  and  scoff  at  our  stricken 


AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 


5 


neighbors  across  the  sea.  We  must  step  in 
and  help  them  to  their  feet  again. 

Let  us  look  at  certain  facts. 

More  than  one  half  of  the  present  nations 
of  Europe  are  new  in  fact  or  form.  They 
were  born  since  the  war  and  out  of  the  war. 
They  are  facing  the  problem  of  national  exist¬ 
ence  for  the  first  time  or  facing  it  under 
such  changed  forms  of  government  as  to  make 
their  problem  practically  a  new  one.  It  is 
difficult  to  establish  a  new  state  under  the 
most  favorable  conditions,  but  to  establish 
it  when  industry  is  disorganized,  when  com¬ 
merce  is  destroyed,  when  credit  is  gone,  when 
society  is  disintegrating,  is  a  well-nigh  im¬ 
possible  task.  Every  new  nation  in  Europe  is 
facing  odds  that  only  the  greatest  courage 
and  the  wisest  statesmanship  can  overcome. 
There  is  hardly  one  of  them  that  has  a  suffi¬ 
cient  foundation  of  stability  and  security  to 
stand  upon  in  its  fight  for  national  existence, 
yet  in  spite  of  seemingly  insurmountable  diffi¬ 
culties  they  are  struggling  heroically  to  find  a 
way  to  freedom. 

Every  nation  that  went  into  the  war,  save 
one,  came  out  of  it  bankrupt.  National  debts 
were  multiplied  from  five  to  fifty-one  times. 
France  came  out  of  the  war  with  a  national 
debt  of  fifty-three  billions  of  dollars,  an 


6 


AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 


amount  three  billions  greater  than  the  total 
estimated  wealth  of  the  French  people  before 
the  war  began.  If  the  national  debt  of  the 
United  States  bore  the  same  relation  to  its 
national  wealth  that  the  national  debt  of 
France  bears  to  its  national  wealth,  we  would 
now  be  facing  a  national  debt  of  approxi¬ 
mately  three  hundred  and  eighteen  billions  of 
dollars.  It  is  only  necessary  to  state  the  finan¬ 
cial  burdens  of  some  of  these  European  coun¬ 
tries  in  this  comparative  fashion  to  appreciate 
the  load  they  are  carrying. 

In  order  to  meet  the  interest  on  their  na¬ 
tional  debts  and  the  other  expenses  of  their 
governments,  the  people  are  being  taxed  from 
five  to  fifteen  times  above  what  they  were  be¬ 
fore  the  war.  Every  average  family  of  five  in 
Great  Britain  is  contributing  approximately 
$500  a  year  to  the  expenses  of  the  government. 
France  is  taking  by  direct  and  indirect  taxa¬ 
tion  an  amount  equal  to  forty  per  cent  of  the 
total  pre-war  income  to  the  French  people 
in  order  to  pay  the  interest  on  her  national 
debt  and  carry  the  ordinary  expenses  of  the 
government.  Some  time  ago  one  of  our 
United  States  senators  stated  that  our  na¬ 
tional,  State,  and  local  governments  were  tak¬ 
ing  sixteen  per  cent  of  the  earnings  of  the 
American  people.  He  declared  that  taxation 


AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 


7 


had  become  extortion  and  that  every  industry, 
enterprise,  and  business  was  being  crushed 
under  what  he  called  an  intolerable  burden. 
If  the  American  people  with  their  unlimited 
resources  are  being  crushed  under  the  burden 
of  taxation  that  takes  only  sixteen  per  cent  of 
their  income,  what  shall  we  say  of  the  French 
people,  forty  per  cent  of  whose  pre-war  earn¬ 
ings  are  now  consumed  by  the  national  gov¬ 
ernment. 

In  spite  of  the  burden  of  taxation  which 
governments  are  imposing  upon  their  peo¬ 
ples,  there  is  hardly  a  balanced  budget  in 
Europe.  National  expenditures  are  far  be¬ 
yond  national  incomes.  Debts  are  piling  up  on 
debts  in  appalling  proportions  and  with  aston¬ 
ishing  rapidity.  The  national  debt  of  France 
has  increased  by  approximately  one  hundred 
billion  francs  since  the  war  closed  and  is  still 
mounting.  Austria’s  deficit  for  the  current 
year  is  reported  at  four  trillion  crowns.  Rus¬ 
sia’s  budget  for  1923  is  estimated  at  five  hun¬ 
dred  and  eighty  trillion  roubles.  Such  sums 
have  become  so  fantastic  in  their  proportions 
that  they  have  lost  the  semblance  of  reality. 

There  are  only  two  ways  by  which  nations 
can  cover  the  deficits  in  their  national  budgets 
— by  inflating  their  credits,  or  inflating  their 
currencies.  France  has  elected  the  former 


8 


AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 


method  and  is  covering  her  unbalanced  budget 
by  borrowings.  As  a  result  her  credit  is 
strained  to  the  breaking  point.  Unfortunately 
for  many  of  the  countries,  they  have  no  credit 
to  inflate.  Therefore  their  only  recourse  is  to 
the  printing  press.  Such  nations  are  issuing 
paper  money  with  nothing  behind  it  but  the 
promise  of  an  unstable  government  to  pay. 
The  printing  press  is  both  the  salvation  and 
the  curse  of  Europe.  While  it  meets  an  im¬ 
mediate  emergency  it  makes  a  future  one  in¬ 
evitable.  The  more  money  they  print,  the 
more  they  have  to  print.  The  faster  they 
issue  their  currency,  the  more  rapidly  it  depre¬ 
ciates.  The  more  they  have  of  it,  the  less  it  is 
worth.  The  currency  situation  in  Europe  has 
reached  such  proportions  that  Mr.  Hoover  has 
cleverly  said  that  Europe  has  ceased  printing 
paper  money;  it  is  now  publishing  it.  Ger¬ 
many  issued  300, 000, 000, 000  new  paper  marks 
in  November  alone  and  is  still  printing.  In 
order  to  keep  pace  with  its  demands,  the 
Soviet  government  has  decreed  that  all  notes 
issued  in  1922  shall  have  a  value  ten  thou¬ 
sand  times  that  of  all  previous  issues.  By 
government  fiat  one  rouble  became  ten  thou¬ 
sand  and  one  hundred  roubles  became  a  mil¬ 
lion.  As  a  result  of  inflation  many  European 
currencies  have  lost  all  semblances  of  their 


AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 


9 


former  values.  A  thousand-mark  note  that 
formerly  brought  $200  in  the  financial  markets 
of  the  world  is  not  worth  fifteen  cents  to-day. 
Before  the  war  five  Austrian  crowns  would 
have  purchased  an  American  dollar;  to-day  it 
requires  one  thousand  crowns  to  purchase  an 
American  cent.  Eight  years  ago  a  million 
Russian  roubles  were  worth  approximately  a 
half  million  American  dollars;  to-day  they 
are  worth  three  American  cents. 

One  cannot  face  facts  like  the  foregoing 
without  the  conviction  coming  upon  him  that 
Europe  is  in  danger  of  financial,  economic, 
and  social  collapse.  Unless  a  way  can  be 
found  for  the  deflation  and  stabilization  of 
currencies,  for  the  reduction  of  taxes,  and  the 
rehabilitation  of  industry,  commerce  and 
credit,  Europe  is  heading  straight  for  dis¬ 
aster. 


Germany 

Germany  is  the  danger  spot  in  Europe.  It 
is  the  key  to  reconstruction  or  destruction. 
After  the  peace  was  signed  Germany  started 
out  to  capture  the  markets  of  the  world  again. 
To  do  it  she  deliberately  debased  her  cur¬ 
rency  to  secure  the  advantage  that  comes  in 
production  costs  from  cheap  money.  By  her 
longer  hours  of  labor  and  her  cheaper  cur- 


10 


AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 


rency  she  was  able  to  undersell  the  world. 
For  a  time  her  industries  were  run  at  top 
speed,  every  market  was  flooded  with  Ger¬ 
man  goods ;  and  to  the  superficial  observer  Ger¬ 
many  appeared  to  be  the  most  prosperous  of 
the  nations  in  Europe.  But  in  order  to  keep 
her  industries  going  she  must  have  raw  ma¬ 
terials  and  these  raw  materials  must  be  pur¬ 
chased  in  foreign  markets.  With  the  fall  of 
the  mark  Germany’s  currency  has  lost  its 
purchasing  power  in  the  markets  of  the  world, 
and  in  consequence  she  is  now  finding  it  diffi¬ 
cult  to  secure  the  necessary  raw  materials  for 
her  industries.  Her  industries  are  slowing 
down ;  smokeless  chimneys  are  beginning  to  ap¬ 
pear  ;  unemployment  is  growing,  and  the  job¬ 
less  are  on  the  increase.  If  this  process  con¬ 
tinues  and  large  masses  are  thrown  out  of 
employment,  distress  is  certain  to  come.  The 
working  people  have  no  savings  laid  by  for 
food  and  clothing  when  unemployment  comes. 
Distress  and  discontent  are  therefore  begin¬ 
ning  to  make  their  appearance  among  the 
working  people.  They  cannot  and  will  not  see 
their  families  suffer  from  hunger  and  cold 
and  remain  complacent.  Distress  leads  to 
desperation  and  desperation  to  revolution. 

Successful  revolutions,  however,  never 
spring  from  the  masses  alone.  Brains  are  nec- 


AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 


ii 


essary  for  leadership  if  revolutions  are  to 
succeed.  And  it  is  precisely  this  intellectual 
leadership  that  is  now  in  process  of  prepara¬ 
tion.  The  people  who  have  suffered  the  most 
in  Germany,  as  well  as  in  other  European  coun¬ 
tries,  are  certain  intellectual  groups  who  be¬ 
fore  the  war  lived  by  their  investments.  In 
former  times  their  income  was  sufficient  to 
enable  them  to  live  in  affluence  and  luxury. 
To-day  their  returns,  due  to  a  depreciated  cur¬ 
rency,  are  not  sufficient  to  purchase  even  the 
necessaries  of  life.  There  are  many  university 
people  and  civil  servants  with  fixed  salaries 
whose  incomes  have  not  kept  pace  with  liv¬ 
ing  demands  who  are  suffering  likewise.  Many 
of  Germany’s  intellectuals  are  being  crushed 
between  a  falling  currency  and  a  rising  cost 
of  living.  They  are  being  ground  to  pieces. 
They  are  coming  to  feel  that  the  present  order 
is  intolerable  and  cannot  and  ought  not  to 
be  endured.  They  are  being  prepared  by 
poverty  for  revolution.  If  the  industries  of 
Germany  are  forced  to  close  for  want  of  raw 
materials,  if  large  masses  of  the  people  are 
thrown  out  of  employment,  with  no  income  to 
face  the  demands  for  food  and  clothing,  then 
look  out  for  revolution.  If  revolution  comes, 
it  will  not  come  out  of  Russia,  but  it  is  likely 
to  partake  of  the  character  of  the  Russian 


12 


AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 


revolution.  Confusion,  chaos,  and  anarchy 
will  come.  Germany  will  go  down  and  the 
greater  part  of  Europe  will  go  down  with  her. 
From  this  there  can  be  no  escape. 

Look  at  the  plight  of  France  if  Germany 
collapses.  I  have  already  called  attention  to 
the  almost  unbearable  financial  burden  she  is 
carrying  as  the  result  of  the  war.  She  has 
never  asked  Germany  to  bear  a  penny  of  this 
load.  She  has  other  burdens  which  she  has 
been  bearing  on  Germany’s  behalf.  In  the  last 
four  years  she  has  borrowed  and  expended, 
approximately,  1 00,000, 000,000  francs  upon 
the  restoration  of  her  devastated  regions  and 
the  care  of  her  war  dependents.  By  the  terms 
of  the  treaty  of  Versailles,  Germany  was  re¬ 
quired  and  agreed  to  reimburse  France  for 
this  outlay,  but  up  to  the  present  time  Ger¬ 
many  has  not  paid  a  single  sou  in  cash  on 
these  items.  For  four  years  the  French  have 
been  carrying  Germany’s  load  in  addition  to 
their  own.  They  cannot  carry  the  two  loads 
much  longer.  France  must  have  relief  or  be 
crushed  under  the  double  burden  which  she  is 
carrying.  If  Germany  goes  down,  it  is  diffi¬ 
cult  to  see  how  France  can  escape  financial 
disaster.  If  the  French  seem  to  be  insistent 
and  persistent  that  Germany  shall  make  good 
her  promised  reparation,  remember  France  is 


AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 


13 


fighting  for  her  financial  life.  If  Germany 
fails,  France  is  lost. 

If  Germany  collapses,  Eastern  Europe, 
Southeastern  Europe,  Central  Europe,  and 
W estem  Europe  will  collapse  with  her — 
whether  Northern  Europe  can  escape  is  un¬ 
certain.  The  picture  is  a  dark  one.  Slowly 
and  surely  its  somber  shades  are  being  painted 
in.  Whether  Europe  can  be  saved  from 
disaster  no  one  can  safely  say.  Some  hope, 
many  fear;  all  await  the  future  with  anxiety. 

The  Moslem  Menace 

There  is  another  aspect  of  the  European 
situation  that  is  equally  sinister  and  menacing. 
I  refer  to  the  cloud  that  has  arisen  in  the 
Near  East.  When  the  Great  War  closed, 
Turkey  was  broken  and  seemed  unlikely  ever 
to  come  back  again.  One  of  the  satisfactions 
that  came  to  many  Americans  was  the  thought 
that  the  Turk  was  out  of  Europe — 'bag  and 
baggage — and  for  all  time.  Such  hopes,  how¬ 
ever,  were  doomed  to  disappointment.  Four 
years  have  passed  and  the  Turk  has  come 
back  stronger  than  he  has  been  for  a  century. 
He  has  swept  the  Greeks  out  of  Asia  Minor, 
and  from  Smyrna  into  the  sea.  He  has  backed 
England,  Italy,  and  France  off  the  Straits  and 
is  dictating  the  terms  of  peace  to  his  former 


14 


AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 


conquerors.  The  fickleness  of  war  and  the 
disappointments  of  peace  were  never  more 
strikingly  demonstrated  than  in  the  “come 
back”  the  Turks  have  staged.  The  threatening 
element  in  the  situation  is  not  the  Turk  but 
what  is  behind  him.  If  England  and  France 
and  Italy  had  had  to  deal  only  with  the  forces 
of  Mustapha  Kemal,  they  would  have  made 
short  work  of  them.  They  would  have  been 
told  to  stay  in  Asia,  and  there  they  would  have 
stayed.  What  gives  power  to  the  Turk  is  the 
fact  that  he  is  sustained  and  supported  by  a 
practically  solid  Mohammedan  world  of  250,- 
000,000  people.  From  India  to  Morocco  the 
Moslems  are  united.  They  are  powerful, 
arrogant,  and  determined.  In  spite  of  their 
political  divisions  and  racial  differences  their 
faith  is  one.  And  that  faith  is  the  unifying 
and  moving  power  in  the  Moslem  world. 
When  the  news  of  Kemal’s  victory  in  Smyrna 
was  flashed  over  the  world  every  Moham¬ 
medan  mosque  was  crowded  with  worshipers 
giving  thanks  for  the  victory  that  had  come  to 
Allah.  In  the  Moslem  stronghold  of  Alex¬ 
andria  a  great  procession  was  organized  and 
the  followers  of  Mohammed  paraded  the 
streets  of  the  city  carrying  a  broken  crucifix 
at  the  head  of  their  procession.  Turkey’s 
victory  was  hailed  as  the  triumph  of  the  cres- 


AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 


15 


cent  of  Mohammed  over  the  cross  of  Christ. 
Turkey  is  a  Moslem  spearhead  thrust  at  the 
heart  of  Europe,  a  constant  menace  and  threat. 

So  long  as  Europe  is  united  and  orderly  and 
powerful,  it  has  nothing  to  fear  from  the 
Moslems;  it  is  abundantly  able  to  protect  itself 
from  any  threat  that  may  arise  from  that 
source.  But  if  disorder  and  chaos  come, 
then  look  out  for  another  Moslem  drive  such 
as  carried  the  followers  of  Mohammed  to  the 
gates  of  Vienna  three  centuries  ago.  At 
present  this  cloud  in  the  Near  East  is  no 
bigger  than  a  man’s  hand,  but  if  collapse 
comes  to  the  Continent,  this  cloud  may  become 
a  deluge — then  God  help  Europe. 

It  is  a  horribly  dark  picture — may  it  never 
come  true.  But  whether  it  comes  true  or  not, 
the  conditions  are  there  that  make  it  possible. 
Europe  must  be  saved.  Christian  civiliza¬ 
tion  is  at  stake,  and  every  available  resource 
must  be  brought  into  play  to  save  it  from  dis¬ 
aster.  It  must  not  be  permitted  to  go  down. 

Saving  Europe 

Europe  cannot  save  itself.  It  has  neither  the 
resources,  the  statesmanship,  nor  the  morale. 
Europe  is  essentially  an  economic  and  social 
unit  and  must  be  considered  and  saved  as  a 


i6  AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 

whole,  if  it  is  to  be  saved  at  all.  It  stands  or 
falls  together.  It  is  only  by  thinking  of 
Europe  as  one  and  working  for  its  salvation 
as  a  whole  that  it  can  be  saved.  And  it  is 
here  that  one  of  the  most  serious  obstacles 
arises.  Every  nation,  sensing  its  own  danger, 
is  trying  to  save  itself.  None  is  able  to  forget 
its  own  interests  and  think  of  Europe  as  a 
whole.  Every  conference  thus  far  has  failed 
because  of  this.  Every  government  has  to 
face  every  problem  and  weigh  every  issue 
from  the  standpoint  of  its  effect  upon  its 
own  affairs.  None  is  in  a  position  to  put  aside 
its  own  interests  and  see  the  problem  of  the 
Continent  as  a  whole.  Some  power  must  be 
found  whose  position  is  so  secure  that  it  does 
not  need  to  think  of  itself,  some  power  that 
can  meet  the  issues  of  the  hour  in  a  large, 
unselfish,  and  idealistic  fashion,  some  nation 
that  is  powerful  enough  and  resourceful 
enough  to  command  the  confidence  of  Europe 
— a  power  that  has  the  moral  authority  to 
lead  the  countries  of  Europe  out  of  chaos  back 
to  order,  out  of  darkness  into  light.  There  is 
only  one  nation  that  has  the  moral  and  the 
economic  position  enabling  it  to  do  this,  and 
that  is  the  United  States.  We  can  save 
Europe  if  we  will,  and  there  is  no  other  power 
in  sight  that  can.  Europe  does  not  need 


AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 


U 

America’s  charity  so  much  as  she  needs  her 
constructive  statesmanship. 

If  Europe  is  to  be  saved  from  the  disaster 
that  threatens  it,  certain  constructive  steps 
must  be  taken : 

Reparations 

First.  The  question  of  reparations  must 
be  restudied  for  the  purpose  of  determining 
definitely  what  Germany  can  and  must  pay. 
It  is  not  a  question  of  what  Germany  ought  to 
pay.  That  cannot  be  fixed.  The  suffering 
caused  by  her  cruel  and  wanton  aggression 
cannot  be  computed.  The  purpose  of  restudy¬ 
ing  the  question  of  reparations  is  not  to  make 
reparation  easy  for  Germany,  but  to  make  it 
possible.  Her  obligations  must  be  fixed  at  the 
maximum  of  her  ability  and  when  fixed,  Ger¬ 
many  must  be  made  to  pay. 

An  International  Loan 

Second.  The  money  must  be  secured  by 
which  Germany  can  begin  her  own  rehabilita¬ 
tion  and  by  which  she  can  also  begin  meeting 
her  obligations  to  France  and  Belgium 
and  her  other  creditor  countries.  This  can 
only  be  secured  by  an  international  loan.  Such 
a  loan  cannot  be  secured  on  German  credit 
alone.  The  money  markets  of  the  world  are 


18  AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 

closed  against  her.  She  must  have  help  if  the 
cash  is  to  be  forthcoming.  There  is  one  way 
by  which  such  a  loan  can  be  raised.  If  the 
creditor  countries  of  Germany,  those  that  will 
benefit  by  such  a  loan,  will  jointly  put  their 
credits  behind  the  credit  of  Germany  as 
security,  the  money  can  be  raised.  If  England 
and  France  and  Belgium  and  Italy  and  the 
other  beneficiary  nations  will  underwrite  an 
international  loan  for  Germany,  its  success  is 
assured.  Otherwise,  it  is  doubtful.  Such  a 
joint  underwriting  will  do  more  than  simply 
secure  the  money  that  Germany  needs  for  her 
own  rehabilitation  and  for  the  meeting  of  her 
obligations  to  her  creditors.  It  will  assure 
the  unity  of  the  Allies  and  their  united  pres¬ 
sure  upon  Germany  until  her  obligations  are 
fulfilled. 


Cancellation  of  Debts 

Third.  The  interallied  debts  must  be  can¬ 
celled.  When  America  entered  the  war  she 
loaned  Great  Britain  and  France  'and  the 
other  allied  countries  approximately  ten  bil¬ 
lions  of  dollars.  This  loan  still  remains  un¬ 
paid.  Recently  Congress  passed  an  act  re¬ 
quiring  the  President  to  demand  the  repay¬ 
ment  of  these  loans  with  interest  within 
twenty-five  years.  Congress  has  done  many 


AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 


19 


things  that  are  not  a  credit  to  its  sagacity,  and 
this  is  one  of  them.  The  allied  countries  can¬ 
not  pay,  and  we  might  as  well  recognize  it 
now  as  later.  It  is  impossible  to  collect  these 
debts  within  the  next  twenty-five  years,  if 
ever.  To  ask  France,  for  instance,  to  add 
four  billion  dollars  to  the  obligations  which 
she  is  already  carrying  is  to  put  upon  her  a 
burden  that  is  impossible  for  her  to  carry. 
To  force  her  to  attempt  it  means  breaking  the 
financial  back  of  our  sister  republic.  And  God 
knows  the  French  have  suffered  enough  with¬ 
out  America  adding  to  her  burdens. 

In  my  judgment  the  United  States  ought 
not  to  ask  her  allies  for  repayment  of  these 
loans,  and  for  these  reasons: 

America  was  making  money  while  the 
Allies  were  spending  it.  The  first  three 
years  of  the  war  were  the  most  wonderful 
period  of  prosperity  in  the  history  of  our 
country.  The  Comptroller  of  the  United 
States  Treasury,  addressing  the  American 
Bankers’  Association  in  the  summer  of  1917, 
declared  that  so  great  had  been  the  prosperity 
of  our  country  in  the  three  previous  years 
that  if  we  were  to  withdraw  from  the  amount 
of  money  then  (1917)  on  deposit  in  our 
American  banks,  an  amount  equal  to  the  com¬ 
bined  resources  of  the  Bank  of  England,  the 


20 


AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 


Bank  of  France,  the  Bank  of  Spain,  the  Bank 
of  Switzerland,  the  Bank  of  the  Netherlands, 
the  Bank  of  Norway,  the  Bank  of  Sweden  and 
the  Imperial  Bank  of  Japan,  we  would  still 
have  left  on  deposit  in  our  American  banks 
more  money  than  we  had  in  them  at  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  1914.  Europe’s  suffering  was  the 
source  of  America’s  prosperity.  The  money 
we  loaned  to  our  Allies  was  money  made,  for 
the  most  part,  through  the  suffering  of  our 
Allies. 

The  Allies  were  shedding  blood  while 
America  was  making  money,  and  they  were 
shedding  it  for  America’s  sake  as  well  as  their 
own.  The  fundamental  issues  of  the  war  were 
the  same  in  1914  as  in  1917.  They  did  not 
change  from  1914  to  1918.  Democracy  was 
as  much  endangered  when  Germany  invaded 
Belgium  as  when  her  submarines  threatened 
America’s  shipping.  Civilization  was  as  much 
at  stake  when  the  Lusitania  went  down  as 
when  the  Arabic  and  the  Essex  were  sunk 
later.  Morally  it  was  as  much  America’s  fight 
in  1914  as  in  1917  when  we  entered  the  con¬ 
flict.  Yet  for  three  years  we  stayed  out  of  the 
conflict  and  our  Allies  fought  the  fight  for 
civilization  without  asking  America  for  a 
dollar  or  for  a  man. 

When,  finally,  we  entered  in  1917,  the  Allies 


AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 


21 


were  bankrupt  and  we  were  unprepared.  They 
said  to  us  in  substance,  “You  put  up  the 
money ;  we  will  put  up  the  men  until  you  can 
come  in.”  We  put  up  ten  billions  of  dollars 
and  they  put  up  ten  millions  of  men.  And  for 
twelve  months  after  we  had  made  the  fight 
ours  by  official  declaration  of  war  the  allied 
soldiers  fought  our  fight,  and  bore  the  brunt 
of  battle  in  our  behalf  as  well  as  their  own. 
Finally,  when  we  were  able  to  put  our  men 
into  the  fighting,  our  resources  turned  the  tide 
and  the  enemy  was  crushed.  When  the  war 
ended  the  Allies  staggered  out  of  it  battered 
and  broken  and  bled  white.  France  alone  lost 
fifteen  hundred  thousand  of  her  sons,  seven 
hundred  thousand  more  were  permanently 
mutilated,  and  three  million  others  bore  in 
their  bodies  the  wounds  of  war.  This  was  the 
contribution  of  life  that  France  made  to  save 
civilization  and  the  world.  All  the  money 
we  loaned  our  Allies  cannot  bring  back  a 
single  son  of  France  who  died  in  that  awful 
struggle.  All  the  money  we  possess  cannot 
make  a  single  mutilated  man  whole  again. 
When  you  put  the  money  we  loaned  into  one 
side  of  the  scale  and  the  life  our  Allies  sacri¬ 
ficed  in  the  other,  the  scales  tip  but  one  way. 
There  is  a  debt  we  owe  our  Allies  that  we  can 
never  repay,  and  we  do  well  to  recognize  it. 


22 


AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 


In  the  light  of  the  moral  values  involved  there 
is  only  one  thing  that  America  can  do  with 
good  grace,  and  that  is  to  cancel  the  loans  we 
made  that  our  Allies  might  carry  on. 

Disarmament 

Fourth.  Europe  must  disarm.  There  can 
be  no  balancing  of  budgets,  no  stabilizing  of 
exchanges,  no  reduction  of  taxation,  no  eco¬ 
nomic  restoration,  no  permanent  peace  or 
promise  of  peace  until  Europe  delivers  itself 
from  the  burden  and  the  threat  of  war.  Why, 
then,  does  not  Europe  disarm?  For  the  same 
reason  that  America  does  not.  It  does  not 
dare  to. 

Look  at  the  situation  in  France.  Twice  in 
fifty  years  she  has  been  attacked,  her  coun¬ 
try  overrun  and  her  sons  slain.  Eight  times 
in  that  period  she  has  been  threatened  with 
war.  The  French  feel  it  is  only  a  question  of 
time  when  Germany  rehabilitated  will  leap 
again  at  the  throat  of  France  a  third  time  and 
that  time  for  vengeance  and  final  destruction. 
The  French  know  that  Germany  has  nearly 
double  their  population,  nearly  twice  their 
resources,  and,  because  of  her  more  rapid  in¬ 
crease  in  birth  rate,  within  a  generation  Ger¬ 
many  can  put  three  men  into  the  field  for 
every  one  that  France  can  place  in  uniform. 


AMERICA  AND  EUROPE  23 

Before  the  war  France  had  an  alliance  with 
Russia  and  with  Great  Britain,  and  those  alli¬ 
ances  saved  her  in  1914.  To-day  she  has  an 
alliance  with  neither.  She  stands  isolated  and 
alone,  dependent  upon  her  own  strength  for 
her  security.  That  is  why  France  does  not 
dare  to  disarm. 

The  French  have  disarmed  as  far  as  they 
dare  to  go.  In  the  last  three  years  they  have 
cut  the  term  of  military  service  in  two.  They 
have  reduced  their  military  and  naval  budget 
by  seventy-two  per  cent.  They  have  two  hun¬ 
dred  thousand  fewer  men  under  arms  to-day 
than  they  had  before  the  war.  France’s  mili¬ 
tary  and  naval  budget  in  1922  was  less  than 
one  half  the  military  and  naval  budget  of  the 
United  States.  France  would  disarm  com¬ 
pletely  and  instantly  if  she  could  be  assured  of 
protection  against  her  enemy.  In  fact,  there 
is  not  a  nation  on  the  Continent  that  would 
not  disarm  immediately  and  gladly  if  it  could 
be  guaranteed  its  national  security.  The  crux 
of  this  whole  disarmament  question  is  the 
question  of  guarantees.  I  can  sum  up  the 
disarmament  situation  in  three  sentences,  two 
of  which  will  be  self-evident : 

War  is  inevitable  without  disarmament. 

Disarmament  is  impossible  without  guaran¬ 
tees. 


24 


AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 


Guarantees  to  be  effective  and  satisfactory 
must  have  America  as  one  of  the  guarantors. 

The  governments  of  Europe  do  not  trust 
one  another,  but  they  do  trust  America.  They 
believe  in  our  word.  What  we  pledge  to  do 
they  know  we  have  the  power  to  fulfill. 
Where  America  is  ready  to  lead  they  are  ready 
to  follow. 


World  Conference 

If  our  government  would  call  a  world  con¬ 
ference  at  Washington,  to  include  among 
other  nations  Russia,  Turkey,  and  Germany, 
and  would  make  the  following  proposals — 

1.  That  the  nations  should  agree  together  to 
such  a  standardization  and  reduction  of  mili¬ 
tary  and  naval  forces  as  would  limit  them  to 
the  minimum  required  for  police  protection. 

2.  That  each  nation  should  pledge  itself  to 
respect  the  rights  of  every  other  nation  and 
refrain  from  attack  or  threat  of  attack  upon 
any  other  nation. 

3.  That  in  the  event  that  one  nation  attacked 
or  threatened  to  attack  another  all  the  other 
nations  should  take  joint  action  against  the 
aggressor — 

Every  nation  in  the  world  would  follow 
America’s  leadership  and  disarmament  would 
come. 


AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 


25 


If  in  connection  with  and  as  part  of  such  a 
world  conference  there  were  assembled  a 
group  of  economic  experts  to  study  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  reparations,  of  international  loans,  and 
interallied  debts,  out  of  such  a  conference 
would  come  solutions  that  would  start  the 
world  on  the  way  to  peace  and  prosperity 
again.  Seldom,  if  ever,  has  any  nation  been 
confronted  with  so  great  and  providential  an 
opportunity  to  serve  humanity  as  confronts 
America  to-day. 

American  Participation 

I  know  that  this  is  a  hard  gospel  for  many 
Americans.  Some  have  become  so  enamored 
of  national  isolation  that  they  look  with  ab¬ 
horrence  upon  anything  that  savors  of  Ameri¬ 
can  participation  in  world  affairs.  When  I 
'  arrived  in  America  some  time  ago,  I  said  to 
one  of  my  preacher  friends:  “What  is  the  atti¬ 
tude  of  America  toward  Europe?”  He  looked 
me  in  the  eye  and  replied :  “Damn  Europe ! 
Let  her  stew  in  her  own  juice.  America  has 
done  enough !  That,”  said  he,  “is  the  atti¬ 
tude  of  big  business.”  I  thought  he  was  mis¬ 
taken  then ;  I  know  he  is  mistaken  now.  That 
sentiment  does  not  represent  the  heart  of 
America  at  the  present  time. 

Nothing  could  be  more  unsound  eco- 


26 


AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 


nomically  than  for  America  to  allow  Europe 
to  “stew  in  her  own  juice.”  America’s  pros¬ 
perity  rises  or  falls  to  that  of  Europe.  The 
United  States  has  become  a  great  producing 
nation.  Our  output  surpasses  our  capacity  to 
consume.  We  must  have  a  foreign  market 
for  our  surplus,  otherwise  our  surplus  comes 
back  into  our  own  markets.  Prices  are  forced 
down,  profits  are  sacrificed,  industries  are 
shut  down,  working  men  are  thrown  out  of 
employment,  earnings  cease,  and  distress  and 
discontent  follow.  When  Europe  suffers 
America  suffers  with  her.  On  the  other  hand, 
so  great  is  Europe’s  need  that  she  could  con¬ 
sume  the  world’s  surplus  production  for  a 
generation  at  least.  If  America  had  the 
sagacity  to  assist  in  Europe’s  rehabilitation, 
she  would  find  a  market  for  all  our  surplus, 
and  point  the  way  to  a  prosperity  the  like  of 
which  for  magnitude  even  America  has  never 
known. 

There  is  a  moral  element  in  the  situation  we 
must  not  forget.  Every  country,  save  one, 
came  out  of  the  war  bankrupt  in  money  and 
bankrupt  in  men;  America  came  out  of  the 
war  with  her  financial  resources  untapped  and 
her  man-power  practically  untouched.  Our 
productive  power  and  our  financial  resources 
are  larger  than  ever  before  in  our  history. 


AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 


27 


We  are  fifty  billion  dollars  richer  than  we 
were  before  the  war.  Over  forty  per  cent  of 
the  accumulated  wealth  of  the  world  is  pos¬ 
sessed  by  the  United  States.  Never  was  a  na¬ 
tion  so  richly  favored  of  God  as  America. 

Why  has  Providence  so  bountifully  pro¬ 
vided  for  America?  Is  it  that  we  may  sur¬ 
round  ourselves  with  luxury  and  enjoy  the 
blessings  of  a  generous  Providence  while  the 
rest  of  the  world  suffers  in  sorrow  and  rots 
in  poverty !  I  do  not  believe  the  Almighty  has 
so  blessed  America,  merely  for  her  own  en¬ 
joyment.  He  gives  to  nations  as  he  gives  to 
individuals,  for  the  benefit  of  others,  and  not 
for  themselves  alone.  “To  whom  much  is 
given,  from  him  is  much  required.”  That  is 
the  fiat  of  God ;  that  is  the  law  of  the  universe. 
There  is  one  parable  that  we  need  to  read  and 
reread  in  these  crucial  days,  and  that  is  the 
parable  of  the  man  whose  ground  produced 
beyond  the  capacity  of  his  bams  to  contain. 
But  instead  of  sharing  his  prosperity  with 
his  needy  neighbors,  he  said  to  himself,  “I 
will  tear  down  my  old  barns,  I  will  build 
larger  ones  and  I  will  gather  my  crops  into 
them — I  will  say  to  my  soul:  ‘Soul,  thou  hast 
much  goods  laid  up  for  many  years  in  store — 
take  thine  ease — eat,  drink,  and  be  merry.’ 
But  God  .said  unto  him,  ‘Thou  fool — this 


28 


AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 


night  shalt  thy  soul  be  required  of  thee.’  ”  And 
it  was.  Then  he  learned  that  what  he  had  was 
not  his  own.  Selfishness  never  gives  security. 
Isolation  never  gives  immunity  from  respon¬ 
sibility.  That’s  the  lesson  America  must  learn. 

In  those  dark  and  trying  days  of  ’17,  when 
we  felt  that  civilization  was  at  stake  and  the 
world  itself  was  in  peril,  we  laid  everything 
we  had  of  property  and  life  upon  the  altar 
for  humanity.  Those  were  days  when 
America’s  soul  shone  forth  in  its  true  great¬ 
ness  and  glory.  We  found  our  soul  in  the 
war — -we  must  not  lose  it  in  peace. 

America  cannot  remain  out  of  Europe- — 
she  has  too  priceless  a  treasure  there.  Fifty 
thousand  of  the  noble  boys  we  sent  across  the 
sea  never  came  back.  They  are  sleeping  now 
beneath  the  soil  their  blood  enriched  to  save. 
They  died  at  America’s  behest  that  America 
and  the  world  might  live.  Their  task  is  as 
yet  unfinished.  The  world  is  still  to  be  saved. 
It  is  to  their  unfinished  task  that  we  must  now 
dedicate  ourselves  anew.  Once  more  their 
appeal  comes  across  the  sea : 

“To  you  from  failing  hands  we  throw 
The  torch;  be  yours  to  hold  it  high. 

If  ye  break  faith  with  us  who  die, 

We  shall  not  sleep,  though  poppies  grow 
In  Flanders  field." 


AMERICA  AND  EUROPE 


29 


We  are  not  only  confronting  a  Continent  in 
need ;  we  are  facing  our  own  dead.  It  is  they, 
who,  together  with  Almighty  God,  are  chal¬ 
lenging  America  to  return  to  Europe  in  this 
most  fateful  hour  in  the  history  of  the  world. 


/ 


